International confidence in US economy ‘crumbling’ after Snowden leaksRT: Surely not even you can make any kind of link between the Snowden saga and the US economy? Max Keiser: The American economy runs on the confidence, confidence that the world accepts the US dollar as world reserve currency, confidence that the US bond market will remain the standard.

The Tipping Point for MindfulnessMindfulness practices like meditation have been in existence for thousands of years, but only now are they reaching the tipping point in the Western world. Today’s pace and stress are so great that people are searching for new practices to find resilience in the midst of chaos, and mindfulness programs are helping them find better ways to live.

Basic income versus the robotsAn economic all-stars match-up. Two weeks ago, I wrote about the idea of a citizen’s income: the state replacing the vast majority of the benefit system with one cash payment made to everyone, regardless of employment or income. The advantages of such a change are legion.

How Bank of America Corp (BAC) Defrauded AmericaDid Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC ) enrich itself by defrauding potentially millions of homeowners who requested loan modifications under the 2009 Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP? Yes, or at least that’s what six of its former employees are claiming in a class action lawsuit being waged in a Massachusetts federal court.

Pelosi booed for defending NSA wiretappingHouse Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was booed and interrupted by a group of liberal activists after defending the NSA’s electronic surveillance program at a conference in Silicon Valley on Saturday. Pelosi condemned National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden for exposing the agency’s controversial data-gathering practices, noting that what he did was illegal.

The Last Mystery of the Financial CrisisWhat about the ratings agencies? That’s what “they” always say about the financial crisis and the teeming rat’s nest of corruption it left behind. Everybody else got plenty of blame: the greed-fattened banks, the sleeping regulators, the unscrupulous mortgage hucksters like spray-tanned Countrywide ex-CEO Angelo Mozilo. But what about the ratings agencies?

Canada Outlaws Wearing of Masks at Unsanctioned Government Protests: Punishing DissentThe conservative Canadian government, as of June 19, has made the wearing of a mask during an “unlawful assembly” a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison. According to the Canadian Broadcasting Company website, the bill’s sponsor in the Canadian parliament claims it is aimed at rioters who cause vandalism or violence (which sometimes is, however, precipitated by police intervention).

AP boss: Sources won’t talk anymoreAssociated Press president Gary Pruitt on Wednesday slammed the Department of Justice for acting as “judge, jury and executioner” in the seizure of the news organization’s phone records and he said some of the wire service’s longtime sources have clammed up in fear. Pruitt said the department broke its own rules with the seizure,…

NSA’s Keith Alexander seeks cyber shield for companiesEven as he defends controversial government surveillance programs, the head of the National Security Agency is asking Congress for another authority sure to inflame critics – legal immunity for companies that help the feds fight cyberattackers. Gen. Keith Alexander has petitioned Capitol Hill for months to give Internet service providers and…

‘We were told to lie’ – Bank of America employees open up about foreclosure practicesEmployees of Bank of America say they were encouraged to lie to customers and were even rewarded for foreclosing on homes, staffers of the financial giant claim in new court documents. Sworn statements from several Bank of America employees contain a number of damning allegations, the latest claims entered as evidence in a multi-state class action lawsuit that challenges the bank’s history with foreclosures.

Mindfulness can increase wellbeing and reduce stress in school childrenMindfulness — a mental training that develops sustained attention that can change the ways people think, act and feel — could reduce symptoms of stress and depression and promote wellbeing among school children, according to a new study published online by the British Journal of Psychiatry.